As the workforce of today is flexible and distributed, the recruitment tools and methods must reflect this shift in corporate culture. Traditional talent acquisition simply wonโt cut it for corporations looking to secure industry-leading talent. Companies are adjusting their recruitment models, identifying high caliber talent virtually, and delivering a competitive user experience online. How then, can firms innovate in a digitally interconnected landscape to remain the employer of choice?
Read on to discover the benefits, drawbacks, and metrics of virtual recruiting so you can keep your talent pipeline flowing.
Troubleshooting: virtual recruiting challenges
Aside from technical glitches, remote interviewing comes attached with certain logistical drawbacks. A prominent issue business leaders face is genuine engagement: how can one yield a strong interpersonal relationship with a prospective candidate virtually? While some would argue that telephone or collaboration tools offer a high level of engagement, in many ways you simply canโt top face-to-face interviewing.
In the recruitment landscape, personal interactions and touchpoints are significantly valuable. Showing prospective candidates around the office is an integral aspect of selling the company and its values, but one that has been entirely negated by remote recruiting. It is no surprise then, that not every employer is on board with digital job searches and making important hiring decisions with minimal human input. When analyzing the remote interview format, can it limit how qualified candidates are assessed? For instance, objective measures, such as gauging cultural fit and identifying key talent quickly, may come at a cost with digital interviews, as it is difficult to replicate these competencies through a screen.
The sweet spot: virtual recruiting benefits
While the caveats are inevitable, there is ample opportunity for companies looking to build a successful recruiting process. Web-based recruitment undoubtedly creates a more efficient hiring process, saving employers on monetary expenditures, improving the full recruitment lifecycle, and generally cutting out the fluff. Not only is online hiring cost-effective, but employers can respond with speed and efficiency; a critical factor for securing talent in a candidate-driven market, where top talent typically has around 3-4 offers on the table at any given time. From digital pre-screening, background checking, to assessments, online recruiting is a contemporary solution that dramatically reduces the time it takes to source the right applicant.
Technology gives employers the opportunity to expand the geographical parameters of the job and thereby benefit from a wider talent pool. Diverse candidates are not always available next door, hence by leveraging online hiring, businesses can move the needle on diversity. By standardizing the digital recruitment practice, this can provide a real opportunity to significantly eliminate any unconscious biases. This also works both ways; when location is no longer a limitation, organizations can benefit by inviting a more diverse interview panel to the process.
Elevating the candidate experience
In todayโs remote working world, the web-based candidate experience acts as a window into a specific company and potential employer. Prospective job seekers will evaluate your organization based on their experience with a hiring process, and subsequentially, an ineffective candidate encounter may deter other business-critical talent from applying. The candidate impact runs deep; in PwCโs Future of Recruiting Survey, 49% of candidates had turned down a job offer because of a poor recruiting experience. While it might seem abstract, a positive or negative experience can have a profound impact on your ability to recruit key talent moving forward.
To avoid being hard pressed when sourcing top professionals, itโs imperative to make sure that prospective employees think highly of your overall talent acquisition procedure. In addition, remote job searching may present an unexpected turn of events โ when the element of human connection is extracted, the candidate experience might be more liable to incur problems. In this light, a remote recruiting paradigm should not alter the engagement with applicants; employers may need to think carefully, with respect to managing the online practice, to bring about the most successful outcome. To set your company aside from the competition, harnessing digitally enabled tools and providing an experience that excites will be fundamental.
Read Decoding the virtual landscape for more insights into virtual recruiting.
As a global talent partner, we leverage digitally driven tools and tactics to ensure that the recruitment process is in expert hands. If youโre an employer looking to make a business-critical hire, request a call back from one of out talent consultants below.
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